Abducted Standard Group editor Alex Kiprotich found abandoned alive in thicket in Masinga, Machakos County
The Standard Group Associate Editor, Alex
Kiprotich, who had been abducted by armed men along the Gilgil–Nakuru road on
Tuesday night was found alive in a thicket in Masinga area, Machakos County.
Witnesses said Kiprotich looked shaken and injured when he was found on Wednesday morning.
This was more than 200 kilometers away from where he had been abducted.
His colleagues and family said they received calls from a number and when they picked it was the victim on call.
They had been looking for him overnight. Kiprotich was taken to hospital for check ups.
Police said they were also informed of the discovery and were investigating the same. The motive of the abduction was not immediately known.
A video that captured the drama had emerged online and Kprotich could be heard screaming and asking what he had done to be taken away.
This was after a car he and his driver they were driving in was blocked by armed men and demanded he gets out.
Kiprotich had locked the windows and doors of the car as the one that blocked him stopped ahead of them with hazards on.
He was finally dragged out and driven away.
The Standard Group Group Chief Executive Officer Chaacha
Mwita demanded his immediate and safe release.
Mwita said Kiprotich was abducted shortly before
9:20pm while travelling to Nakuru. The Standard Group said Tuesday’s incident was the
second time Kiprotich had been targeted in two months.
According to the company, armed men travelling in
a Toyota Probox attempted to seize the journalist from his vehicle on June 27,
2026, as he drove to work in Nakuru. Kiprotich reportedly escaped by locking
his vehicle and driving away.
The company claimed that its investigations into
the June incident traced the vehicle to the National Police Service’s Crime
Research and Intelligence Bureau, but said no one had been held accountable.
“Tonight, that threat has been carried out,” the
statement said.
The media house linked the latest incident to
Kiprotich’s editorial work, particularly his reporting scrutinising the conduct
of the State.
“We do not believe this is a coincidence,” the
company said, describing the incident as having “all the hallmarks of a
targeted attack on a journalist for doing his job.”
The Standard Group further alleged that the
abduction could be linked to elements within the State seeking to intimidate
the media organisation into silence.
The company said any such involvement would amount
to an assault on constitutional protections of freedom of expression and the
media under Articles 33 and 34 of the Constitution.
“We say this plainly and without equivocation: the
Standard Group holds the State responsible for Alex Kiprotich’s safety and his
life, and for anything that happens to him while he remains missing,” Mwita
said.
The company had demanded the immediate, safe and
unconditional release of Kiprotich, as well as a prompt, transparent and
independent investigation into his alleged abduction.
It is also demanding an investigation into the
June 27 incident and why no one has been held accountable.
The Standard Group has called on the Independent
Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA), Kenya National Commission on Human Rights
(KNCHR), Law Society of Kenya (LSK), Media Council of Kenya (MCK), Committee to
Protect Journalists (CPJ) and members of the public to join its demand for
answers.
